Posted: March 14th, 2010 | Filed under: Pop Culture | 94 Comments »
OK, so I was driving from Fort Myers to Tampa today, and I was iPod-listening today and, I heard these two songs back-to-back:
“Little Red Corvette,” Prince.
“Eye of the Tiger,” Paul Anka.
OK, so you ask: So what? Well … there’s no real point except that when I heard those songs I was really, really happy. I can’t explain it. Well, actually, I probably can. LIttle Red Corvette was the song that made me fall in love with Prince’s music, and it still makes me ecstatically happy every time I hear it. And Paul Anka’s version of Eye of the Tiger makes me laugh at first but then I find that I really l enjoy listening to it (I feel the same way about Matt the Electrician’s version of “Jessie’s Girl.”)
Anyway, it made me think: I need to make an iPod list of the 15 happiest songs ever recorded. I don’t mean the songs have to be happy — I mean they have to make the listener happy. For instance, I think Midnight Oil’s “Blue Sky Mine” is not a happy song — it was inspired by people people in the asbestos mines. But it SOUNDS happy, and it makes me happy, which might make it a failure on some level but not the level I’m hearing.
So have at it: We’re taking nominations here in the comments. Happiest songs ever.
Posted: March 7th, 2010 | Filed under: Pop Culture | 68 Comments »
Yes, time again for my annual “I didn’t see any of these movies” Oscar picks. I’m writing this one from the airport as I head to spring training. Baseball is here!
It’s a funny thing about the Oscars and predictions — I used to see ALL the movies before the Oscars began. I would even try to see a Documentary Short or two, if I could. The funny part is that actually seeing the movies did not help my Oscar picks at all. Quite the opposite, really. I would find myself getting emotional about a movie I liked and irrationally picking it even though I knew, deep down, that they were going to give the thing to Titanic.
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Posted: February 28th, 2010 | Filed under: Pop Culture | 69 Comments »
I have been a Jerry Seinfeld fan for a long time. My best friend in college, Joe Habina, and I were huge Seinfeld fans years before he started the show on NBC. We would greet each other every day with a high pitched “It’s that guy! That same guy!” which comes from a Seinfeld bit about dogs. We constantly would relive his bit about parakeets or his bit about moving a sofa with his father or his bit about the cost of movie candy. We loved the guy.
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Posted: February 17th, 2010 | Filed under: Pop Culture | 85 Comments »
The big Olympic story yesterday seemed to be that Lindsey Jacobellis did not gain redemption at these Games. That was the word of the day, you know. NPR counted 26,700 “Jacobellis” and “Redemptions” on Google. They did not count the “absolutions” or “exonerations” or “exculpations.” Yes, redemption. Jacobellis Seeks Redemption! Redemption, thy name is Jacobellis! Jacobellis Falls Short of Redemption!
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Posted: February 7th, 2010 | Filed under: Pop Culture | 31 Comments »
Sitting here at the stadium several hours before the Super Bowl begins. In case you are wondering — and I’m sure you were — I will be live blogging the Super Bowl for SI.com and CNN. Links to follow.
In the meantime … what the heck am I doing? Right. I’m sitting here thinking about stupid things. And so , we offer the first installment of …
Stupid Stuff — I Think About — Before Super Bowl — XLIV
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Posted: February 4th, 2010 | Filed under: Other Sports, Pop Culture | 89 Comments »
As this thing begins and winds around and rambles … you will wonder how we’re going to get to Halls of Fame. But we will get there eventually. Believe me, I’m not recommending you take the journey.
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Posted: February 2nd, 2010 | Filed under: Other Sports, Pop Culture | 61 Comments »
The following is something new. It is a director’s cut story to accompany my Sports Illustrated column on Steve Sabol and NFL Films. Every week in the magazine, I write a column to kick off the Scorecard section. It’s a terrific honor and terrific space. It’s also 900 words and as my friend Buck O’Neil would say about himself “It takes me that long just to say ‘Hello.’” So, rather than just let all extra the stories and details die on the cutting room floor, many weeks I will write a longer story online to supplement the column. This is one of those weeks.
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Posted: February 1st, 2010 | Filed under: Other Sports, Pop Culture | 57 Comments »
Well, it should be no secret here that I love the Harlem Globetrotters. Well, more to the point, I love the Washington Generals,* the team that always loses to the Globetrotters, those players who game after game, year after year, decade after decade fall for the ball-on-the-string trick, search hopelessly for the ball under the shirt, and aimlessly chase the Globetrotters through their unstoppable weave offense.
*Or the New York Nationals or whatever they happen to be called that day.
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Posted: January 29th, 2010 | Filed under: Pop Culture | 84 Comments »
I really like Conan O’Brien and I did not watch The Tonight Show. No. Not strong enough. How about this: I really like Conan O’Brien — I think he’s smart and funny and quirky — and I almost never watched The Tonight Show.
No, still not strong enough.
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Posted: January 28th, 2010 | Filed under: Pop Culture | 73 Comments »
Well, there was probably no way that that the Apple Tablet — the iPad or iTab or whatever name they’ve gone with — was going to live up to expectations. Weeks and weeks and weeks of hype had led many of us to believe that this was going to be the flying car, the Dick Tracy transmitter watch and the Matrix all wrapped into one. Anything they unveiled was going to spark some disappointment.
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